


I See the Light

by macandcaseus



Category: Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys & Sophism (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Tangled AU, i have backstory/context - see link in notes to that document, might make this into a full au but for now have a one shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29438019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macandcaseus/pseuds/macandcaseus
Summary: “Oh,” she sighed as more lanterns drifted up, the sky slowly fading from the dark blue of dusk to sunset orange. “It’s beautiful.”The flickering dots of orange and yellow haloed her, making her a silhouette amongst the light, and Will froze, hands still adjusting his shirt from her chaotic scramble.He smiled at her, arms falling to his knees. “Yeah. It is.”
Relationships: William Hawkes & Kym Ladell, William Hawkes/Kym Ladell
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31





	I See the Light

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mintuos (knotkym)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/knotkym/gifts).



> My Secret Valentine gift for Mint!! Happy Valentine's Day bb, I hope you enjoy these two being cute ^__^
> 
> I have context for the backstory of this AU![ Click here ](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IxH_ZSEK6OHNmRtONeu9-HF9m3MRSa5lQM6rNK9NVfw/edit?usp=sharing)to see the Google Doc where I lay out what Prince William is up to and how he and thief extraordinaire Kym met and came to work together.

William shivered as Kym’s fingers brushed through his hair.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said, hesitating. “It’s just strange thinking that the same hands that have stolen so many priceless objects over the years are in my hair right now.”

She chuckled, and he could picture her mouth as she did, one side lifting higher than the other, corners of her eyes crinkling. “Afraid I’m gonna make off with your pretty blond locks? Sorry, Princey, but that’s not the kind of gold I’m interested in.”

“Interested enough to ask to braid it.” He turned to look at her. “I hope you’re not ruining things back there.”

“Hey!” His hair slipped from her fingers as he turned, and she pointed at him. “How dare you have such little faith in my hair braiding.”

“Well,” he said, eyes drifting to her short, dark blue strands. “Forgive me if you don’t look like the kind of person who knows much about hair care.”

She crossed her arms, leaning forward and raising an eyebrow. “Are you forgetting that my two partners in crime each have  _ glorious _ heads of hair? While yours is longer than both of theirs combined, I think the skills are transferable. Now, turn back around, I’m not done yet.”

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head, not letting himself smile until he was facing forward again.

His eyes drifted over the water, blinking as the gentle tug of whatever Kym was doing to his hair relaxed his shoulders, calmed his heart—at least until a glowing speck lit up in the reflection.

He inhaled sharply, straightening. “Kym, look.”

He turned as he pointed at the water, and her eyes followed his finger before lighting up and flicking to the sky. She gasped before climbing over him, causing him to shout as she tumbled to the front of the boat, flinging her arms around its post.

“Oh,” she sighed as more lanterns drifted up, the sky slowly fading from the dark blue of dusk to sunset orange. “It’s beautiful.”

The flickering dots of orange and yellow haloed her, making her a silhouette amongst the light, and Will froze, hands still adjusting his shirt from her chaotic scramble.

He smiled at her, arms falling to his knees. “Yeah. It is.”

She turned to him, and he looked across the water, at a cluster of ships that were sending lanterns up as well. “I bet this is pretty old for you,” she said.

Everywhere he looked, more and more lanterns floated skyward, more than he thought would be possible. “No,” he said, softly, the years spent sitting on the balcony of his mother’s room with her and Rafael, watching the city below light and rise to greet them flickering through his memory. “It never gets old. And I’ve never seen it from this vantage point.”

Kym turned back to watch the lights, wrapping her arms around the post and leaning on it, humming and swaying slightly, the boat moving with her rhythm. Will watched her, making sure she was truly enraptured with the lanterns before reaching for his bag.

The crinkling of the paper as he puffed each of their own lanterns open made Kym turn, a smile stretching across her face when she saw them in his hands. “You got two for us?” She made her way back to the bench, her knees bumping against Will's as she sat down.

“Of course,” Will said, holding one out to her. “This year more than ever I need to honor my mother. And you need to take part in the tradition for the first time yourself.”

She snorted. “Yeah, probably because I’ll never be back here once you’ve gotten back to her.”

His heart clenched, and he looked at her, but she was studying the lantern, tracing her finger over the sun printed on the paper. “Never?”

Her eyes met his, the amber pinpricks in the sky making her eyes even more intense, more flame-like than usual. “Well. Unless you wave your princely wand and pardon me of my crimes. But,” she said, shaking her head and pulling a smile onto her face, “we’re not here to think of that. Now, are we lighting these or what?”

Will gave her a small smile, but his heart still pounded as he reached into the bag and brought out a matchbox. “I’ll hold this, you can light our lanterns.”

His breath caught in his throat when her hands closed over his to slide the box open, her fingers wrapping around his hand to hold him still as she struck the side of the box. Even once the match was lit, she held onto him, her fingers cool against his skin— _ Is she really this cold? Or am I just … very warm right now? _

The flame in her own lantern flickered to life, and she held the match to his, dropping it into the water once it caught, too. She let go of his hand to hold the sides of her lantern, and after a moment he did the same, waiting for the heat to pull it up, and at the same time, they pushed them into the air.

They leaned back, watching them rise, twirling around each other as though locked in a dance, making their way to the cloud of other lanterns passing over them. When he lost track of them amongst the others, Will looked at Kym, who was still leaning back, mouth agape as the lights cast warmth over the water, over themselves.

His fingers twitched, and before he could stop himself, he leaned forward, taking her hand in his. She took her gaze from the sky and met his, eyes wide before sliding her other hand into his free palm as well.

“Thank you, Kym,” Will said softly, squeezing her hands.

She gave him a gentle laugh. “For what?”

“For what?” he repeated. “For helping me find a way to cure my mother. For trying to find my brother, even if … that part of my wish didn’t go exactly as planned. For showing me the world beyond the palace walls.” He swallowed, dropping his eyes to their hands, clasped together, hers so soft in his. “You have no idea how much these past few days have meant to me.”

Her thumbs rubbed the backs of his hands, gentle circles, as soothing as they were in his hair. He glanced back up to her, taking in her face. If this was the last night he would see her, he wanted to commit her to memory—the arch of her eyebrows, the gentle slope of her nose. The curve of her Cupid’s-bow lips, parted ever-so-slightly as she looked back at him. The soft roundness of her face, a face that no one would think belonged to a criminal until they found her attempting to steal a crown or locked behind dungeon bars. And, the feature he knew would never leave his mind—the dark beauty mark at the corner of her eye, which always captured his attention when he looked at her, fascinated at how it moved with her smiles, her laughter, the times she squinted her eyes and frowned in concentration. The slight wind ruffled her dark blue hair, making the strands dance around her face, brush over the spot. He reached out, tucking them behind her ear before brushing his thumb over the mark, smiling at the feeling of it beneath his thumbpad—raised, small. So delicate, so permanent.

He met her eyes, so much closer to his than they had been before.

“Kym?” he said, voice quiet.

“Hm?” she asked, eyes dropping to his lips.

“You are … incredibly close to me.”

She blinked, leaning into his hand on her face. “And you’re holding my cheek so very tenderly.”

In the corners of his eyes, the warm lights passed by them, swirling over the water. They were surrounded by light, but she somehow still managed to shine the brightest.

He leaned forward, moving his thumb to press his lips to her mole, barely a whisper on her skin until she moved, allowing him to kiss the spot. She let out a small gasp, and he pulled back, only to brush the tip of her nose with his, waiting for her to close the gap between them. 

When she did, her breath dusting over his lips, Will closed his eyes, letting joy light behind his eyelids. Happiness glowed through his chest, his heart fluttering as she leaned into him, letting go of his hand to push both of hers into his hair, balling her fists in it and holding him to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist, letting his mouth open to deepen their kiss, her honey-sweet lips insistent but still soft on his. 

It was as though everything in his life had led up to this moment. Each twist and turn of fate, every single step he had taken from his first to the one leaving the palace walls to the one that placed him in this boat with her all part of a path laid out long ago, taking him to where he was meant to be—here, with her fingers tangling his hair, her lips pulling him to her, her heartbeat against his chest, echoing his own. 

The inevitability of their parting slipped from his mind. All that mattered was her being with him in this moment, the cloud of lanterns illuminating, searing this memory into his mind, a flame he would hold close, a second flickering heartbeat.

She was his light, his dream. And he didn’t want to let her go just yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo unlike in the actual movie, I let Kywi have their kiss here :) I don't know if I'll ever get around to making a full AU for this, so I figured why not give them a little kiss, as a treat. 
> 
> If I do write the full AU, I'll probably leave this as a one-shot and write a different version of this scene for it. But I have a lot of other projects that I am more invested in creating now soooo..... we'll just have to wait and see if I ever write more with this concept.
> 
> HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY MINTY!!! and the rest of the kywi cult :debbyryan: y'all are the best <3


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